Deordorant

Typical deodorant has ingredients that are not healthy at all.  The scariest thing about this fact is that we place deodorant right on our lymphatic system.  This is not a good scenario.  Making homemade deodorant is easy and definitely worth a try.  I love this recipe! It is creamy and smells great.

1/4 cup of baking soda

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp coconut oil

30 drops of sage essential oil

20 drops each of lavender and lemon essential oil

1/4 tsp of zeolite

pinch of enzymes

I put all these ingredients in the bowl of my mixer.  Let the mixer do most of the work combining these ingredients.  I do find that I need to blend with a spoon a little bit at the end to get a creamier consistency.  I store the deodorant in a glass container on my bathroom counter.  When it's time to use the deodorant I just scoop a little out with my fingers, about the size of a pinto bean, and rub it between my hands and then smooth onto my arm pits.   Since using this recipe I have had no red bumps on my underarms either.  I have also used this deodorant on my kids stinky feet!

Morning Cleansing Routine

I have felt like doing the oil cleansing method both morning and night is a little much.  My face really doesn't get all that dirty while I am sleeping.  I also seem to be a little more crunched for time in the morning as well.  Always looking for ways to simplify, I do things a little different in the morning.  I just take a cotton ball or washcloth and put some witch hazel that I ordered from Swanson Vitamins  and then add a couple drops of tea tree oil.  Just wipe my face and done.  Easy!

Thyme for a change

I have used drug store benzoyl peroxide for a blemish treatment.  After researching benzoyl peroxide I knew I had to find an alternative.  In 1981 the Journal of Science concluded that "caution should be recommended in the use of this and other free radical generating compounds." Studies have shown it to be carcinogenic and skin tumor promoting.  I was putting that on my face!?

Luckily I found a study done by Leeds Metropolitan University that discovered that the herb Thyme is as effective as benzoyl peroxide as a acne treatment.  Yipee!  Mother nature always has a better alternative to the chemical laden products that companies produce in a lab.  I happen to have some Thyme essential oil and decided to give it a try and have been very happy with the results.  I wouldn't recommend using the oil undiluted.  I tried that and found it too hot.  I have been adding a drop or two to my face cleansing oil instead.  An astringent made with Thyme and witch hazel would be very effective too as well.  I am in the process of making a batch and will let you know the results….

I clean my face with oil

THE OIL CLEANSING METHOD

I looked into many different methods to naturally remove my makeup and cleanse my face.  The oil cleansing method isn't a new way to cleanse but it was new to me.  It seems totally counterintuitive to wash my oil prone face with oil but WOW this has really worked for me.  Here is my take on the this cleansing method.

1- I make my oil mix which is half castor oil and half sweet almond oil.  I buy organic oils from www.swansonvitamins.com.  I would suggest making a smaller batch to begin with.  When I first decided to try oil cleansing I was so excited that I made a whole jar of an oil mixture which ended up not being the right mixture for my face.  More on this later…
2- I use this mixture to remove my eye makeup.  I take a washcloth and run some hot water (not too hot, your eye area is sensitive) on it to wipe the oil/mascara mess off my eye area.  Then I wash my hands.
3-I put about a quarter size pool of this oil mixture in my palm and then add a couple drops of tea tree oil.  I don't add the tea tree oil to my mixture to begin with because it would irritate my eyes and I wouldn't be able to use this oil mixture for a eye makeup remover too.
3-Next I rub the oil mixture onto my dry face and massage it in for at least 2 minutes.  You can massage for a longer amount of time if you want, sometimes I do.   Most oil cleansing methods have you soak a washcloth in as hot water as you can tolerate, wring it out, and cover your face with the washcloth to steam your face, then wipe off your face.  I do not like to cover my face so I take the hot washcloth and just wipe my face with it, rinse the washcloth and wipe my face again.  I repeat until when I wipe my face the washcloth isn't wiping off anymore makeup or dirt.  It is usually 2 or 3 times.
4- Tada!  A natural makeup remover and facial cleanser.  I don't need to use a moisturizer with this method.  But if you do, you can put a little of your oil mixture on as a moisturizer.


O.K.  Lets get to some of the details of the oil cleansing method:

OIL MIXTURE RATIOS

If you have oily skin you will want to start with an oil mixture ratio of 2/3 castor oil with 1/3 carrier oil.
For normal skin you will want to have equal parts castor oil and carrier oil
For dry skin start with a 1/3 castor oil to 2/3 carrier oil mixture (you may need to omit the castor oil all together if it is too drying for you)
These ratios are a place to start.  You may need to make some adjustments for your own skin and even make adjustments per season or as your skin adjusts to this method.  I started out using the oily skin ratio but as my skin adjusted to this regimen I have now moved to the normal skin ratio.

CARRIER OILS

There are a lot of different carrier oils that you can choose from.  These are the oils that I most commonly saw referenced in my research on the oil cleansing method:
olive oil is where a lot of people who try oil cleansing begin it is supposed to be a good oil for all skin types but I read a lot of reviews that made me question this so I didn't choose to start out with this oil.  I am curious how my skin would respond to olive oil so I plan to give it a try.  I just have to know…
jojoba oil is a common oil in beauty products and is a good oil for all skin types and acne prone skin as well.
sweet almond oil is good for all skin types and oily skin types
grape seed oil is good for all skin types
sunflower seed oil is good for all skin types
avocado oil is good for dry skin type
argan oil is good for aging skin
    When I started with the oil cleansing method I made a mixture of castor oil, grape seed oil, with a little jojoba oil.  After researching oils that would be good for oily and now thanks to whatever hormonal mess I am in from having children, somewhat acne prone skin, I felt that these oils would work well for me.  However, that was not the case.  I expected to have some breakouts as my skin adjusted and impurities were pulled out of my skin by the castor oil.  I had the worst acne of my life!  And it wasn't clearing up!  I knew that it was time for a new formula.  I chose sweet almond oil as the carrier oil for my new mixture and have had great results.  I don't have the perfectly clear skin that I used to have before having children but I am heading in that direction and doing so without using all the horrible chemicals that I had been using in the past.

Goodbye lotion

The first product I decided to switch for a more natural alternative is lotion.  I use lotion over my entire body so there's a lot of surface area for junk to creep into my system.  Its hard to find a lotion that doesn't contain parabens or some other Xenoestrogens.  I live in a desert so lotion is a must. My skin without lotion would look like the dried cracked dirt that we all visualize when we hear the word "desert".  There are many oils that make great alternatives.  My top 3 are almond oil, olive oil, and coconut oil.  I most frequently use coconut oil because I like the way it smells and the consistency is a little more solid so I don't end up dripping it everywhere.  I love the 72 oz jar (can you call something that is 72oz a jar?) of Nutiva organic extra virgin coconut oil that I found at Costco for $21.99.  I believe you can never have too much coconut oil!

It all started with progesterone cream…..

After the birth of my 3rd child, I had some crazy hormone things going on!  I tried all that I could think of to help balance what was so obviously out of balance.  I eventually went to see an integrative doctor who combines traditional medicine with a more holistic approach.  Long story short I ended up on a prescription bio-identical progesterone cream.   Hallelujah!  I finally found something that worked for me.  The progesterone cream provided relief from some very difficult symptoms, it also provided a major realization.  If this cream could soak through my skin and make such obvious changes in my body's chemistry, what about all the other products I was putting on my skin?  What were they doing to my body?

I began looking at the products I had in my bathroom:  face wash, astringent, zit cream, moisturizer, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, mouse, lotions, etc.  They all had lists of ingredients that I knew I wouldn't want in my body.  So I began to look into natural beauty products and this blog is my online journal of this natural product journey, the story of how I am becoming naturally Terra.